Representations of masculinity In Yusuf Atılgan’s novels

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the narrative strategies in Yusuf Atılgan's novels, which critically address the male subject's perception of himself and his environment, gender roles, and the understanding of gender throughout Atılgan's literary life. The lives of the main characters in the novels Aylak Adam, Anayurt Oteli and Canistan are determined by the masculine codes they have experienced since childhood. These characters clash with their masculinity performances, which were shaped by gender roles from childhood. When the characters conform to masculinity roles, they gain power in society, and when they do not conform to these roles, they are excluded from society. In these novels, which deal with their characters’ adaptation to the codes of the patriarchy, one can see that all three male main protagonists correspond to overlapping masculinity roles or different states of masculinities. The similarities and differences between these different patterns of masculinity in Atılgan novels show that masculinity is not a static structure, on the contrary, it is a performance that changes and transforms with different socioeconomic and social situations. In this study, the narrative strategies, character transformations, language and narrator elements created by Yusuf Atılgan in his novels are examined and how gender roles in the narratives are represented are studied in detail. The aim of the thesis is to enrich masculinity studies in the context of Yusuf Atılgan literature by bringing a new perspective to Yusuf Atılgan literature. (See the appendix for extended abstract.)